You are probably aware of greatly increased activity by Inland Revenue in auditing owner operated businesses which handle high proportion of cash transactions. Inland Revenue has received millions of dollars of extra funding in this area, and recovers many times that in extra tax collection.

The links below are to a number of recent articles on the subject.

April 2011 NZ Listener re IRD audits

May 2011 NZ Herald "taxman leaves a sour taste"

June 2011 Tips for handling an IRD audit

While IRD says that it is not specifically targeting Asian businesses, there is no doubt that IRD believes that many such businesses do fit their criteria for extra audit attention.

We cannot disagree with the principle of IRD recovering unpaid tax, but are very concerned at some of the tactics that IRD uses.

Owens Tax Advisors Limited has been commissioned by taxpayers and accountants to assist with a number of very lengthy IRD audits, and has been successful in bringing them to conclusion and negotiating good settlements.